India's Logistics Cost to Reach Single-Digit in 5 Years: Gadkari

New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) India's logistics cost will come down to single-digit within the next five years, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

Addressing the 'Deloitte Government Summit' here, Gadkari said the ministry is constructing several highways and expressways which will help reduce India's logistics cost.

"I am confident that within five years our logistics cost will be in single-digit," he said.

However, according to quick estimates of economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), the logistics cost in India ranged from 7.8 per cent to 8.9 per cent of GDP in 2021-22.

The road transport and highways minister further said he aimed to make the Indian automobile industry number one in the world.

Last year, India had overtaken Japan to become the third-largest automobile market in the world, only behind the US and China, he said.

According to him, the size of India's automobile industry rose from Rs 7.5 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 22 lakh crore in 2024.

Talking about India's macroeconomy, Gadkari said India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

"If we can increase the purchasing power of farmers, then it will have a big positive impact on our economy," he said.

Gadkari also emphasised that India needs to increase its exports and reduce imports.

"Like smart cities, smart village is also economically viable," he said.

The minister opined that in any organisation, performance audit is more important than the financial audit.